The strategy that Zelensky went from Ukraine to the United States
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky went to the United States on a US Air Force plane Photo: Reuters
A completely different set of measures were taken to move Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine to the US capital, Washington DC. These steps show how important the relationship between the two countries is for both.
- According to a BBC report, Zelensky visited the war front in eastern Ukraine last Tuesday. After that, he started his journey to Washington from there. He arrived in Poland after an overnight train journey. Zelensky boarded a US Air Force plane there. The aircraft was escorted by a NATO reconnaissance aircraft and an F-15 fighter jet.
Strict confidentiality
- Zelensky's visit was discussed earlier this week. However, the matter was not confirmed until last Wednesday morning. By then, US officials had confirmed that the Ukrainian president was safely on his way to the US capital.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy was spotted at a train station in the Polish border town of Przemyśl early Wednesday morning. Photo: Reuters
The visit had been under discussion for months. However, the final preparations are taken quickly. The two presidents talked about this on December 11. Three days later the invitation was sent to Zelensky. As soon as the tour was confirmed, the final planning began.
It is not at all unusual that there is no official information about the visit. Even during peacetime, any presidential visit is surrounded by tight security. But for a wartime leader, security risks are high.
Train travel to avoid Russian missiles
- Russian missile threats make air travel in Ukrainian airspace extremely dangerous. So Zelensky is believed to have secretly traveled by train from Ukraine to Poland. He was spotted early Wednesday morning at a railway station in the Polish border town of Przemyśl.
In several images broadcast on Polish TV, Zelenskiy is seen walking along a platform with security officers. Behind is a blue-yellow Ukrainian train. Later they got into a waiting convoy. The fleet also included a few black Chevrolet Suburban models of the US government's choice.
As a wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelensky's security was also heightened in Washington
Many Western leaders and officials traveled by train to meet Zelensky in Kiev. But this is the first time he has been out of the country since the start of Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Moments later, flight data showed a US Air Force Boeing C-40B aircraft taking off from Rzeszow Airport, about 80 kilometers west. Zelensky is believed to have been on this plane.
Intelligence and fighter jets in security
- The aircraft headed northwest towards the United Kingdom. However, it is a NATO reconnaissance aircraft that checks the security of the area before entering the airspace of the North Sea. The sea to the north is known for Russian submarine patrols.
Then a US F-15 fighter jet took off from a base in England. The fighter escorted the plane as part of Zelensky's journey.
The plane carrying Zelensky finally landed near the US capital at noon Washington time, about 10 hours after takeoff. Of course, Zelensky's entire journey is much longer.
Washington is also on extra alert
- Zelensky was escorted by the Secret Service when he arrived in Washington. This is done in the case of the visit of all heads of state. But as the leader of a country at war with Russia, security officials have taken extra precautions for Zelensky's safety.
- "We are very aware that Russia has manpower in this country and could try to do something," a senior official told ABC News. We know what the risks are.'
- Zelensky's visit apparently went well. By yesterday Thursday, he returned to European soil. In a post on his Telegram channel, Zelensky said that he stopped in the country to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Zelensky has already crossed the border into Ukraine. But only after he is safely back in Kiev can US officials rest easy. "Putin and the Kremlin know he (Zelensky) needs to go home," an official told ABC News.
